This week we are going to assume that throughout 2013 you were more nice than naughty, and made it onto Santa’s “good kid” list.
With January coming up, and the inevitable “I am going to lose weight” resolutions that come with it, I thought I would focus on a few home workout ideas and equipment for you to hopefully get in your stocking. There’s something here for everybody’s budget, so hopefully it works for you.
1. Resistance bands
These are fantastic little devices and come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. These are particularly effective for the novice workout person who is unsure what to get in terms of dumbbells or strength training equipment. They are cheap to buy, and very portable, which means you can take them if you travel. They also store very easily within the house.
2. Stability ball
These things are fantastic and one of my favorite pieces of equipment to work out with. They come in different sizes, and colors, so there is something for everybody from the smaller framed person to someone who is 6’6” and needs a little bigger ball. Most of them come in three sizes: 55 cm, 65 cm, and 75 cm.
If space is an issue, even though it might take a few extra minutes, you can also deflate them after each workout and reinflate when you’re ready. The great thing about these, and I have recommended this to a number of my clients, is they can also replace a chair at your workplace. Simply take one of these and get rid of your existing chair and sit on it all day. You’ll get a fantastic core workout without actually knowing it and will improve things like posture and overall health during the course of your workday.
3. Yoga mat
This is a very simple piece of equipment and is obviously given its name for the activity that you can participate in. If you haven’t tried yoga, give it a go. The other benefit of having something like this is that no matter where you work out in your house you will have a consistent and safe nonslip surface to do it on. If you’ve got hardwood floors especially this will absorb sweat and prevent you from taking a tumble when you go to stand on the surface that you have sweat all over.
4. Dumbbells
Well let’s submit it, many of us wouldn’t truly feel like we are working out unless we were able to do some dumbbell curls. These little, or big, pieces of equipment haven’t changed in hundreds of years, and there is a really good reason why. You can do everything with them and they come in all different sizes, starting at 1 pound and going up into the 100s. For the average person looking to get the most bang for their buck, I would recommend getting a 5-pound, 10-pound, and 20-pound set, which should give you all the variations you need to get a great workout.
5. Heart rate monitor
This would be perhaps the more expensive piece of equipment that Santa might bring you, but it can be just as important depending on how you want to track the intensity of your workouts. Fat loss begins at around 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. To find that, you simply take 200 and subtract your age from it. If you can get to a position during a workout that you are hitting 80 percent of that number, then you are starting to reach the fat loss zone. Most of these monitors now come in the form of an easy to wear watch, or you can get a little more specific and wear chest straps. For the ladies, and especially those that have a little bigger budget, you can now get sports bras where the heart rate monitor is built into the under wire. Again, you can spend $50 on these and they go all the way up into the $500 range with various add-ons, like GPS for those of you that want to track your heart rate and where you run.
One of the things I didn’t put on this list, which may surprise some people, is a home gym system. There are, quite literally, hundreds of different types to choose from and they range from the very basic to incredibly complex systems. Again, the primary decision for getting one of these most likely will be space in your house.
I have found, in nearly every conversation I have with people, that these pieces of equipment are used significantly in January and into February, and then once March and April roll around it becomes somewhere to store your clothes or other items. That’s not to say they don’t have tremendous benefit, but be wary of spending a ton of money on equipment that you won’t be using after the first few months of the year.
The other items listed here can often replace 80 percent of what a home gym system can do. With that said, if you have your heart set on a home gym, December is the right time to buy one. Do not wait until January to purchase one. You can get very good ones off of craigslist, and often for a great deal as people are trying to get money for Christmas. But also if you go to one of the big box retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods, they are clearing out the 2013 models to make way for the new ones that will arrive in a few weeks to satisfy the 2014 shoppers.
I was actually in the Sports Authority over in the Tanasbourne shopping center this weekend, and was amazed at the deals they were giving out on equipment from 2013. It might be worth your while making a quick trip over the hill to go see what they have.
Bottom line, any equipment is obviously going to be better than having no equipment in terms of working out. Whether you have been naughty or nice, getting your workouts and during the new year can be exciting and can give you a sense of purpose and ambition for the year ahead.
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